Website conversion rate: how to increase it
Introduction
Website Conversions are very important when you run a business as it is a yardstick that measures the performance of your advertising channels. There is a formula for measuring the conversion rates.
It goes like this:
Order/Number of visits X 100 =. Conversion rate for e-commerce sites
For example, if you received 500 orders this month, and about 5000 people visited your website in that month, then your conversion rate is 10%. There are software analytic tools that would give you the conversion rates, so you don’t have to manually calculate them. Of course, these rates do not just solidly define your business’s success rate, but it would be one way in which you can check the success of your marketing and sales, and how you are relating to your customers.
Understanding the website conversion rate (CR) benchmarks
When you run an e-commerce business, conversion rates are everything. But even that can vary depending on the industry, product niche, and business that you do. Every business owner wonders about the conversion rates, whether they are within the standard industry rates, and if their rates are within the accepted threshold, or below it. When you know your rates are within the conversion rate benchmarks, you know you’ve achieved the goal. Because it is through these conversion rates that you are persuading the customers to engage with your business and convert, of course.
The average conversion rate has increased considerably post-COVID, and the conversion rates have increased significantly. We are not posting any numbers here because the CR depends on the industry, country, business type, product or service, shoppers, pricing, marketing, etc. This proves that people tend to do more online shopping after 2020.
Conversion rates are affected by the shopping channel
People are exposed to several devices and platforms these days. The highest conversion rates come from desktops, tablets, laptops, and of course, smartphones. Interestingly, some marketing experts believe that the CR from smartphones is lower than other mobile devices. People might use their phones to browse products and services, but when it is time to buy, they use their desktops or laptops. Of course, this might change once again, with the country.
What to do with your conversion rates – how to increase it?
Have you ever visited a website that seemed unclear on who they are? Or why should you buy from them? This could be due to a lack of professional branding or even a branding strategy as such. And their website development might also not be up to the mark. These days, enlisting the services of a good marketing agency that can create awesome websites and aid with website CR is not an afterthought or even an option. So if your CR is falling, then there must be something wrong with your website itself, the design, and the content.
Web development and conversion rates
Web development plays an important role in increasing your rates, so extra effort should be taken to make that special.
A website that loads faster
Conversions when your website loads quickly are higher. This is because users have so many options and they get frustrated with each second they wait for the page to load. If your page takes faster to load, that’s one reason why they might want to hit the back button and go to a competitor site. Don’t ever let that happen. Make sure your web development team comes up with a quick-loading website.
Fast apps that work on all platforms
As explained earlier, even if people like to browse on their smartphones, the final purchase might be done on a website or desktop app. Make sure the website loads quickly and correctly on all the platforms.
Choosing a reliable and fast hosting provider
The slower the server response the quicker the exit. Users don’t want to wait for the pages to load because the server has been slow in responding. Make sure you do your research when you choose a reliable and quick hosting provider. Or leave it to the software development company to choose one for you.
Poorly optimised code can affect load time
Here again, poorly optimised code can increase the load time so make sure they are done properly and the file size reduced considerably. This includes HTML, CSS, and Javascript codes as well.
Use A/B testing
The A/B testing tool enables business owners to analyse the different versions of their website and see which versions help in the CR. They will be able to see which one converts buyers, and the developers can tweak the website from time to time to help with the conversion rates. Adjust the websites periodically so the conversion rates remain high.
Simplifying the checkout process
Many e-commerce websites face the issue of having abandoned carts. People place the products in the carts, and they just quit. One of the sure ways to avoid such an issue would be to have a one-click checkout process. Make the checkout easy for the buyer, so they will find the buying process easy. That’s what Amazon has – a one-click purchase checkout option that users are likely to seize. This will increase the conversion rate of your website.
Having a strong CTA
CTA or Call to Action is what prompts the buyer to take action. Creating active content for the CTA is the task of the marketing people but when you create a landing page, make sure to have an attractive-looking CTA that is direct and simple. It should be placed in a prominent position and must be the first thing visible to the customer.
Adding a good UX
User experience is also known as UX for short, and when your website has endearing UX, it will attract users more, increasing the conversion rates. Ensure your website developer has an attractive UX for your website, simplified navigation, a site-search tool, clear images, along a website that loads quickly.
Exit Intent popups
The term is familiar to all, and though some users might find it irritating, you can utilise the pop-ups to entice the customer with deals and promotions. Last-minute promotions with a compelling message will surely turn them in and stop them from exiting.
Conclusion
These are some of the relevant and effective methods to entice people to stay on your website and make a purchase. Some tools and resources can track, analyse, and optimise website performance. Some of the most commonly used tools are Google Analytics, Optimizely, HelloBar, HotJar, InstaPage, ConvertBox, OptinMonster, OmniConvert, CrazyEgg, ClickUp, VWO, Mixpanel, LiveChat, etc. while adding features and new content to the website, remember to avoid bombarding them with too much information, unnecessary product links, and so on. That could certainly turn them away.
Interesting Links:
Check out more information about Website Conversion Rate
Some of the tips to increase your Website Conversion Rate
Pictures: Canva
The author: Sascha Thattil works at Software-Developer-India.com which is a part of the YUHIRO Group. YUHIRO is a German-Indian enterprise which provides programmers to IT companies, agencies and IT departments.
Leave a Reply